The Texans outplayed the Steelers throughout Monday night’s game, but the score remained 7-6 heading into the fourth quarter and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud’s inability to hold onto the ball had something to do with that.
Stroud fumbled the ball five times over the first three quarters and lost a pair of them in the first half of the game. Stroud also threw an interception in the third quarter, but the Steelers could only turn his giveaways into three points thanks to an excellent defensive performance by Houston.
The Texans broke the game open in the fourth quarter as their defense turned a pair of turnovers into immediate touchdowns en route to a 30-6 win that allowed Stroud to focus on how the team persevered rather than just dwell on his miscues.
“We had some problems with the snap, me catching them,” Stroud said in his postgame press conference. “Got to find a way to catch ‘em and take care of the ball. We knew off the tape that they did a good job of punching at the ball or get you while you’re throwing. . . . It’s all about moving forward and trying your best to flush it and keep going. I thought every time we had to bounce back, we made more plays, so I’m proud of our guys for having a little bit of resilience in those moments. To finish the game like that was really dope.”
According to the NFL, Stroud is the second quarterback — Eli Manning is the other — since 1991 with five fumbles in a game that his team went on to win. That history makes it pretty clear that Stroud needs to have a much cleaner performance if the Texans are going to get past the Patriots in the divisional round.
